Not to disappoint you, but it's pretty basic shit. I didn't much care for the whole deal about "lashing" your hammock to a tree. If you're into knots, knock yourself way the hell out, but frankly, I lead a productive life and have way better ways to spend my time.
In short, I scabbed 12 feet of 1" wide webbing onto the cords. Here's kind of the overview of one end of the hammock.
One end of that webbing gets "lashed" (hopefully for the last time) to the hammock cords via some rings . . .
. . . and the other end gets a 'biner . . .
Then all you have to do is wrap the strap . . .
. . . and cinch up . . .
At exactly the same moment that my body slammed into the ground in the middle of the night, I realized that one more step was required. An easily-undone insurance knot. It's probably not necessary if you don't toss and turn, but what kind of freak lays perfectly still? I think you should strongly consider this suggestion.
Looks totally serene from here, but holy hell, is that a torture chamber of a place to spend the night. So far. I'm good for maybe 2 or 3 more attempts but if something doesn't improve in a hurry, tents will start looking pretty freaking good again.
6 comments:
"At exactly the same moment that my body slammed into the ground in the middle of the night, I realized that one more step was required."
OK I don't know about LOLing but I actually laughed out loud when I read down to that sentence. Alex W. had some new fangled webbing/d-ring/Al-tubing/"fisherman's pike" knot requiring set up for his hammock when we went out last month but it was dark during set up and take down so I didn't get a good look at it.
I can usually get some sort of lashing on both ends of my hammock that keeps me from confirming that gravity still works in the middle of the night but getting the hammock centered between the trees during the initial set up is an iterative process that draws me to these alternative rigging systems.
I might give your set up a try or try to add my own modification to it. Alex's systems required a new knot and even though I bought an app for that (and hundreds of other knots) the bloody iPhone still won't tie it for me. Maybe version 4.0 will....
-andre
Alex W is the king of new-fangled fixes. For everything. I can't keep up. I've got that weirdo knot figured out, but I use a webbing/caribiner thing for the tree connection.
But yeah, Andre: I spend most of my time getting it centered.
Unlike Pat, I've had many a wonderful nights in there, provided it's warm enough. I don't have an underquilt, and wrestling with a mattres in there is a pain. So, I'm reserving it for warm summer trips only.
On the upcoming overnighter, I plan on using a bivy/pad/bag combo.
Hi Andre, I can only imagine what Alex has come up with for rigging. Good luck with your efforts. After I read your comment, I backtracked my way through Alex's blog to your set of flickr photos. That was a great one of your overnight gear with all the notes. I'm doing Via too and like you, I think it's just okay. Damn convenient, though. Glad camping season has arrived, here's to many great trips this season.
John, I was determined to go hammock, but with a low of 40 in the forecast, I'm picturing a long, cold night of wrestling with foam and fabric. I might have to break down and tent it.
Yeah, I'm kinda seeing John and Pat hanging from a couple trees somewhere, like Gilligan and the Skipper.
"Hey Little Buddy, can I share your hammock?"
"Only if you help me tie this knot a little tighter, Skipper!"
Well, here is my new set up. Tested it for a few minutes in the park. Once I pick a set of trees I am sure I can have the hammock hung and dialed into my liking in about 3 minutes. The tarp will take a tad more time since i will tie it independently to the tree. Alex took some more photos he should have up soon.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrjoeball/4574889397/
Andre, I checked out your flickr page as well as Alex's write-up. Looks great! In addition to ease of initial setup, another thing I really like about going this route is how easy it is to change the tension, since getting the tension right seems to have a big effect on how comfortable I am.
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